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Low Light Theatre Shots - 85 1.8D

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Home Rental Pro

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Hi all:

From the play the "Importance of Being Earnest" staged by the theatre department of Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah GA. The first one is my daughter, Bess. This was her last show. She graduated with honors in Spring of this year with her degree in theatre. She spent the summer in her first "pro" job, performing in the outdoor drama, "Tecumseh!"



All of these shots were taken with my D70 and the new "used" 85 1.8D lens. Had I had ANY idea what a great low light theatre lens this was, I would have gotten this lens before any of the others I have! I had more "keepers" using this lens x10 than any other I had shot. Best of all, the color was rich, they were tack sharp and it made Dad a VERY happy man!

All shot in JPEG Fine, Apperture priority, f2.8-3.2, Center weighted metering, center spot auto focus, shutter speeds of 1/60-1/125, +0.3 EV, Incadescent WB, AF-S, ISO 640-800.
All were hand-held with good bracing techniques.

BTW ... I turned off the focus "beep", auto-focus assist lamp and auto review of the LCD. I had the schools permission to shoot during the performance as long as they got copies of the shots!











See some of the other shots I took at:
http://www.pbase.com/mmccreary/theatre

--
http://www.pbase.com/mmccreary
http://www.McCrearyRealty.com

'A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.' - Douglas Adams

 
Compliments on a great set of performance pics, a beautiful/talented daughter, and getting her through college!!! That's some kind of neat trifecta :-).
--
Warm regards, Uncle Frank
FCAS Founder, Hummingbird Hunter, Egret Stalker
Dilettante Appassionato
Galleries at http://www.pbase.com/unclefrank
 
Looks like you had a nice time. I also own the 85mm f/1.8D - generally the lens on the camera. Thanks for the shooting info - it will help me a lot also.
--
Mike
 
HomeRentalPro,

GREAT shots and exactly what I'm looking for! I have a post going now where I'm asking which lens to get with a new camera purchase (D80) for stage use.

My only question for you - and I hope I get a quick reply - is: What is the distance (camera to target) on these pixs? Were you seated? Tripod? Location you were at or were you allowed to move around? THANKS!!!
 
Kind thanks Uncle Frank - I respect your work very much and have learned much from your postings.

I have had my D70 a little over years now and thanks to you, David Chin, Sam Stern, Morris and others, I count myself a lucky man!
Thanks again!
Michael
--
http://www.pbase.com/mmccreary
http://www.McCrearyRealty.com

'A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.' - Douglas Adams

 
Thanks Morris! I appreciate your comments very much! I agree about the difficultly of shooting theatrical lighing ... they do teach lighting at the school and the stage in this production was fairly evenly lit. Whereas when they did some other shows like "Little Shop of Horrors" there were many different lighting scenes with multiple shadows/gels and such.
I have found that for the D70, the Incandscent WB really is very accurate.
Thanks again kind sir!
Michael

--
http://www.pbase.com/mmccreary
http://www.McCrearyRealty.com

'A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.' - Douglas Adams

 
Hi there!

Thanks for your comments. This is a small theatre -- seats about 200. They have two aisles creating three sections. I was 3 seats off the left aisle about halfway back ... maybe 35 - 40 feet from the front edge of the thrust stage. Stayed in the one place the entire show.

I hand held all of these. I used good bracing and breathing techniques. I also try to time the shots when everyone was a reasonbly stationary as possible. I also tried to time the shot with dialogue to help cover the shutter/mirror slap.

If you are limited in cash ... look for used 85 1.8D. The 50 1,8 is a no brainer as it can be found at $100 or so all day long.

A lot of folks dump the 18-70 in favor of faster glass, but it is a great lens for indoor shots with flash and all outdoor shots. Great zoom to get used to so when you are ready to upgrade to faster pro glass, you will have better basic skills that will help you. The faster pro lenses can sometimes expose flaws in your shooting techniques.

As you learn, a monopod will help keep the camera steady and it is easy to use when seated in the audience. Keeps the area clear and does not block the audience behind you.

A tripod is a must for portraits and publicity shots. See my gallery of a high school production of "Grease" at http://www.pbase.com/mmccreary/grease for examples of head shots with the 50 1.8D and group shots with the 18-70. All shot on tripod with the SB-800. I used SamSterns wedding reception settings for all of these shots.
Good luck. This is a lot of fun and the right glass makes ALL the difference.!
Michael
--
http://www.pbase.com/mmccreary
http://www.McCrearyRealty.com

'A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.' - Douglas Adams

 
Great shots. I'll have to use this lens more. Do you think it looks better with more contrast and sat? I usually add some. Is this too much?

 
I meant to say earlier ... that these are almost straight out of the camera ...

PP in PSE3 consisted of auto levels,USM, resize for web, and for some shots like this one, selective cropping.

I tend to hold back on the saturation with Reds since I shoot with the VIVID setting in Mode IIIa (sRGB).
Your little extra is nice.
Thanks for your comments.
Michael
--
http://www.pbase.com/mmccreary
http://www.McCrearyRealty.com

'A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.' - Douglas Adams

 
Thanks for your response!
Home Rental Pro said:
If you are limited in cash ... look for used 85 1.8D. The 50 1,8
is a no brainer as it can be found at $100 or so all day long.
Click to expand...
The zoom is out right now as I need something fast for lowlight stage shots, After seeing your shots I am "pumped" on the 85. Where could I get one for around $100? On ebay they are all about $300 plus ?
 
Just curious. Do you think the lens would have been too soft wider than f2.8? Because that would have allowed a lower iso. For example why didn't you pick aperture priority f2.2?
 
Excellent question ... I was having trouble with blowing out the highlights. I started with AUTO ISO and it was all over the map. I then went to my usual 400. Just wasn't happening. PLUS. at 1.8 to 2.2, the DOF was too shallow and the shots of more than one person were just not sharp across the range as they all were not in the same plane on the stage. This was also my first time using the lens and quite frankly I was just giddy with the results and didn't really think it all the options thru during the show. Finally, the show was quite funny and well done. That distraction as well as it being my daughter's last collegiate show, made concentration difficult, espically through Dad's misty eyes!
I will certainly keep that in mind with future opportunities.
Michael
--
http://www.pbase.com/mmccreary
http://www.McCrearyRealty.com

'A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.' - Douglas Adams

 
Tryguy,

I imagine you got your answer by now, but if you haven't it's only the 50mm that can be bought for 100 dollars or cheaper, used. The 85mm will cost about 300 used. But it is worth it.

Guy Moscoso
tryguy said:
tryguy said:
If you are limited in cash ... look for used 85 1.8D. The 50 1,8
is a no brainer as it can be found at $100 or so all day long.
Click to expand...
The zoom is out right now as I need something fast for lowlight
stage shots, After seeing your shots I am "pumped" on the 85.
Where could I get one for around $100? On ebay they are all about
$300 plus ?
Click to expand...
 
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